“Now for a long season Israel [hath been] without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.” (2Ch 15:3-4 AV)
What an amazing statement of God’s grace. These words were directed to Asa, king of Judah. They were meant to encourage Asa to get right with God and to the right thing. This would include the removal of his own mother from the queen’s throne because she possessed an idol. This he did, and much more. The grace of God on others was the motivation from Asa to do right before the LORD. Note in particular the phrase, “for a long season”. Israel, or the ten northern tribes, fled from God almost immediately after the split. Their first king, Jeroboam, set up golden calves in Dan and Bethel. They did their own thing. They worshipped false gods. Yet, when trouble came, they cried out to the one true God who had compassion on them. He eased their suffering as they turned back to Him. I am always amazed at the grace of God and live in the wonder that He so readily forgives and restores. Even if we have been away for a very long time, God still desires our reconciliation. He never wishes for long-term estrangement. Or any estrangement, for that matter. His heart is to walk with His children and will do all He can to make that happen.
It is tragic when we deal with saints who think they have been away far too long that returning is impossible. These are tragic cases, to be sure. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, those who remain away usually do so to their detriment. They fall deeper and deeper into sin until they come to a place of utter failure. They erroneously believe there is a point of no return and no matter what they do, God doesn’t want them back. How sad. This is a devil’s lie! The season we stay away may be long, but God’s grace is always greater. We meet these people quite frequently as we work our neighborhoods. As we speak to others regarding their soul’s condition, invariably we will encounter someone who has been part of a church but hasn’t darkened the door in decades. It is not out of the ordinary to speak to some who attended a children’s program, but are now a wayward adult who have made a series of very bad choices. Sometimes, the humility is ignorance is obvious. They simply do not believe God would ever want anything to do with them, no matter how much they tried. So, they live in a state of permanent defeat. For the most part, however, people like this simply do not want to change their habits and lifestyle. They have gotten comfortable in their sin and have no desire to walk with God.
Asa was heading down the wrong road. It wasn’t so bad that his life was a complete wreck. But he did have a few idols lying around. When the prophet visited him, he took to heart the message of God’s grace. He recognized God’s goodness to his neighbors north of the border. He realized the grace they experienced was available to him. So, as Paul tells us in his first letter to the Romans, the goodness of the LORD leads us to repentance. If the LORD could be good to a nation who had rejected Him for a long season, then surely God could and would be good to him! Herein is our message this morning. God is good! He is so good that we cannot understand it. If we wander far from God, and have been doing so for a very long time, God still desires reconciliation. If we want back in, He wants us back in! That is how God’s grace works. All we have to do is ask. If God can forgive a nation who, for a long season, walked away; surely, He will forgive you, welcoming you back with wide and open arms! Glory!
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